Almost everybody knows what the Great Sphinx of Giza is, but how much do we really know about it? In this article we will be looking at the role of sphinxes in Egyptian mythology—what they are, what they mean, and what they did. We will also be taking an in depth look at the history of the Great Sphinx. Who may have built it and why? When was it built? Do we really know?
We will also look at how the Great Sphinx’s significance in both religion and politics has changed over the many centuries of its known lifetime. From the ancient days of early Egypt, when little is really said about the Sphinx and its existence seems to be taken for granted, to the height of Egyptian culture, when the Sphinx was synonymous with the great solar deities and had the power to legitimize a king’s reign, the more we learn about the Sphinx, the more we know about Egypt.
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Tags: Alabaster Sphinx, Amenhotep II, Cleopatra VII, Colin Reader, Criosphinxes, Djedefre, Dream Stela, Emile Baraize, Great Sphinx, Horemakhet, Karnak Temple, Khafre, Khufu, Mark Lehner, Mit Rahina, Nekhtnebef I, Ptolemy XII, Queen Hetepheres II, Rainer Stadelman, Ramesses II, Sphinx Temple, Sphinxes, Temple of Amun at Karnak, Temple of Luxor, Temples, Thutmose IV, Zahi Hawass
